--- title: JK Rowling Reveals New Fantastic Beasts Clue description: "A tribute to the victims of witch hunts across the centuries with every movement of her hand." canonical: https://time.com/4404270/j-k-rowling-fantastic-beasts/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-13T18:56:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:34:20.736Z og:title: J.K. Rowling Reveals a Major Fantastic Beasts Clue og:description: It totally involves Satan og:url: https://time.com/4404270/j-k-rowling-fantastic-beasts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb256f10312d3f2de/69889bd90b72e386956ea2cc/jk-rowling.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: J.K Rowling - In Conversation og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: J.K. Rowling Reveals a Major Fantastic Beasts Clue twitter:description: It totally involves Satan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb256f10312d3f2de/69889bd90b72e386956ea2cc/jk-rowling.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # J.K. Rowling Reveals a Key Detail About a New _Fantastic Beasts_ Character by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jul 13, 2016 6:56 PM UTC  J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling.Ben A. Pruchnie—Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Jul 13, 2016 6:56 PM UTC J.K. Rowling just revealed another bit of [_Fantastic Beasts_](http://time.com/4380221/jk-rowling-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them/) insight, and it totally involves Satan. Seraphine (Caremn Ejogo) will be stalking Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in the [movie](http://time.com/4313899/harry-potter-jk-rowling-death-apology-remus/), which will delve into fictional wizard history in North America for a change. And Ejogo chose to play Seraphine left-handed for magical reasons, according to a recent [Pottermore](https://www.pottermore.com/news/fantastic-beasts-carmen-ejogo-seraphina-interview) updates. “I’m left-handed actually, naturally, but I know that that’s a very magical trait. I’d be thought of as a witch years ago,” Ejogo explains. “So I wanted to really emphasize my left hand and I thought we could put rings on it. Colleen \[Atwood, the costume designer\] was really into that idea. Pottermore added, “Seraphina, pays tribute to the victims of witch hunts across the centuries with every movement of her hand.” Yes, do continue, Pottermore: “Most depictions of the devil show him using his left hand to anoint his followers, and he sits on your left shoulder with his angel companion on your right. Witches were said to use their left hands to cast curses, to pass ceremonial wine and to salute the leader of the Black Mass, the Queen of the Sabbath. In the witch trials of the past, being left-handed alone could be enough to get you accused of witchery. In the world of _Fantastic Beasts_, the legacy of the Salem Witch Trials is still keenly felt.” A 1969 TIME article reported that “in the Middle Ages, for instance, the left-hander lived in danger of being accused of practicing witchcraft. The Devil himself was considered a southpaw, and he and other evil spirits were always conjured up by left-handed gestures.” Leftie suspicions have since evolved. Pottermore also peppered in that in _Fantastic Beasts_, Mary-Lou (Samantha Morton) will lead a mob of fired up protesters, chanting “We want second Salem! We want second Salem!” The movie hits theaters Nov. 18, 2016. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4404270/j-k-rowling-fantastic-beasts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4404270/j-k-rowling-fantastic-beasts/"},"headline":"J.K. Rowling Reveals a Key Detail About a New Fantastic Beasts Character","datePublished":"2016-07-13T18:56:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:20.736Z","description":"The devil's involved","url":"https://time.com/4404270/j-k-rowling-fantastic-beasts/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","Harry Potter","J.K. 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